1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to information retrieval in a computer network. More particularly, the invention relates to a method to specify and display a rating property to a bookmark or bookmark set in a browser used to retrieve Web pages in an Internet environment. The rating property may be specified by the author of a Web page, or a user may assign a custom rating.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known to couple a plurality of computer systems into a network of computer systems. In this way, the collective resources available within the network may be shared among users, thus allowing each connected user to enjoy resources that would not be feasible economically to provide to each user individually. With the growth of the Internet, sharing of computer resources has been brought to a much wider audience. The Internet has become a cultural medium in today""s society for both information and entertainment. Government agencies employ Internet sites for a variety of informational purposes. For many companies, one or more Internet sites are an integral part of their business; these sites are frequently mentioned in the companies"" television, radio and print advertising.
The World Wide Web, or simply xe2x80x9cthe Webxe2x80x9d, is the Internet""s multimedia information retrieval system. It is the most commonly used method of transferring data in the Internet environment. Client machines accomplish transactions to Web servers using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which is a known application protocol providing users access to files, e.g., text, graphics, images, sound, video, using a standard page description language known as the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML provides basic document formatting and allows the developer to specify xe2x80x9clinksxe2x80x9d to other servers and files. In the Internet paradigm, a network path to a server is identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) having a special syntax for defining a network connection.
Retrieval of information is generally achieved by the use of an HTML-compatible xe2x80x9cbrowserxe2x80x9d, e.g., Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, at a client machine. When the user of the browser specifies a link via a URL, the client issues a request to a naming service to map a hostname in the URL to a particular network IP address at which the server is located. The naming service returns a list of one or more IP addresses that can respond to the request. Using one of the IP addresses, the browser establishes a connection to a server. If the server is available, it returns a document or other object formatted according to HTML. Web browsers have become the primary interface for access to many network and server services.
The entry of the URL in the entry field of a browser can be a difficult task for many users. While the URL for the main Web page of a major company can be relatively brief, e.g., www.ibm.com, subsidiary pages can have very lengthy URLs in, at least to the average user, an arcane syntax. Recognizing the difficulties involved, the browser developers have provided one useful means of returning to a favorite URL, namely, by the creation of user stored xe2x80x9cbookmarksxe2x80x9d and bookmark sets in the browser.
Once created, bookmarks and bookmark sets offer a means of page retrieval. The user can cause the browser to display his or her bookmark list and thereby select to go directly to a favorite page. Thus, the user avoids having to enter a lengthy URL or to retrace the original tortuous route through the Internet by which he or she may have arrived at the Web site. Once a bookmark is added to a bookmark list or bookmark set, in general, the bookmark becomes a permanent part of the browser until removed. The permanence and accessibility of bookmarks have made them a valuable means for personalizing a user""s Internet access through the browser.
The current browser support level of bookmarks has many flaws. Several of these problems are described and addressed by a novel bookmark management scheme as set forth in copending application Ser. No. 09/080,022 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,522 titled xe2x80x9cMethod For Serving Bookmark Setsxe2x80x9d, which application is assigned to the assignee of this application and incorporated herein by reference. That application teaches, among other things, a mechanism for managing browser bookmarks, for searching bookmark sets, for customizing a served bookmark set, and for enabling a user to subscribe to receive updates to a selected bookmark set.
Another problem with existing technology is that Web browsers to do not provide any means by which individual bookmarks or bookmark set entries can be rated. Moreover, existing browsers do not provide or indicate any rating value of the URL associated with the bookmark on the HTTP request. Thus, a given user (e.g., a child) may easily access content (namely, a bookmarked page) that was bookmarked by another (i.e. a parent). Current Web browser rating authority technology only allows ratings to be applied realtime upon selection of a link on a page. Such techniques are not capable of rating bookmark entries or filtering bookmark selections.
It would be desirable to provide a means by which bookmark entries could be rated. This is a problem addressed by the various embodiments of the present invention.
It is an object of this invention to provide a browser mechanism that identifies and displays a server-supplied bookmark set rating.
It is an object of the present invention to enable a Web browser user to assign a rating value as a property of a given bookmark or bookmark set.
It is another object of the present invention to display bookmarks or bookmark sets with rating values and to selectively control access to Web pages using those rating values.
It is a further object of the invention to associate a rating property value with a given bookmark or bookmark set entry and to display that rating property value to a user with a visual cue. The visual cue may be a color, an icon, an image (e.g., a gif, jpeg or .png file type) a display attribute property (e.g., hashed, blurred, reversed video, etc.) or the like.
It is still another object of the present invention to selectively inhibit access to or display of any Web page that is associated with a bookmark having a rating property value that is less than some user- or system-defined threshold.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a GUI bookmark management interface that enables a user to associate a default or customized rating with a given bookmark (i.e. a URL) or a bookmark set. A given rating may be customized with a particular visual attribute defined by the user.
In one particular embodiment, the Web browser includes a display panel that enables the user to define new ratings and to associate given display criteria (e.g., color, font, size, an icon, an image, etc.) to be associated therewith.
It is a further object of this invention to assign different bookmark ratings to a set of bookmarks and to display each rating type in a different manner. Thus, for example, a business-related bookmark may be displayed with a dollar sign icon, a technology-related bookmark may be displayed with a computer icon, a family entertainment bookmark may be displayed with a family icon, and the like.
Another object of this invention is to enable a Web browser user or administrator (e.g., a parent in a household) to specify and create a rating value as a property of a bookmark entry. In a preferred embodiment, the URL associated with the bookmark entry cannot be selected if the rating authority has a given access restriction. Moreover, the user preferably is provided visual feedback that the bookmark is not selectable or that a password is required to access the bookmark.
Yet another object of this invention is to enable a Web server content provider to specify and create a rating value with respect to a given content link. When a page including this link is then served to a Web client and set as a bookmark, the server-supplied rating value is stored in the browser and may be used to selectively inhibit browser access to the content. The Web browser user may override or supplement this setting using local bookmark rating resources.
Yet another object of this invention is to enable downloading to a browser of a set of URLs that include rating values. The sets of URLs can be downloaded as an integral unit, namely a bookmark set.
These and other objects of the invention are provided by a method for using bookmark rating values, comprising a number of process steps. The method begins by assigning a rating as a property of a given bookmark entry. The bookmark entry may be an individual bookmark or bookmark set. When the user stores the bookmark entry into the browser""s set of bookmarks, the respective rating value for the URL is stored therewith. When the user then displays the bookmarks stored in the browser, the rating attribute of the bookmark entry is visually reflected using a visual cue. Moreover, if the browser rating authority is less than the value assigned to the bookmark entry, the entry is not selectable.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects and features of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention as will be described. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment.